Heel-support



c.'B. lMmE. 4 HEEL SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED )IIN-14,1920.

- Patented June 7, 1921.'

UNITED stares `CARI. B. iiuiaiii, or New YORK, N. Y.

. HEEL-SUPPORT.

specification of Lettersraie'nt. Patented June 7, 192L Application led January 14, 1920. Serial No. 351,477.

To all @07mm t may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL B. IMRIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Heel-Support, of which the follow.- isa specification. VIy invention relates to devices adapted to be worn inside the heel portion of a shoe as a pad or cushion and as a'support for the heel of the wearer. f

The purpose of the invention is to provide a resilient or elastic cushion to relieve the shock usually experienced in walking on hard surfaces, andr to provide an adjustable support for the wearers heel, to prevent or `correct certain common foot troubles.

It is well known that the human foot, when in a weakened condition, does not retain its several bones in their proper anatomical positions. At such times the os calcis,y or heel bone, hasa tendency to tilt forward, this being frequently accompanied by a lateral inward or outward rotation ofk thaty bone on its base. Continued llateral tilting of the oscalcis lto either side results in uneven distribution of the weight of the body and consequent strain land discomfort,

together with the unsightly and unhealthy' condition ofY uneven wearing'down of the shoe heels.y

My heel support is-of such shape and contour as to correct any improper lateral tilt# `ing tendency of the os calcis and support that bone yin its proper anatomical position.

It is also so constructed as to afford a longi.

tudinal support to the os calcis or heel bone and to impart to the plantar surface of that bone, forward of its superior tuberosity, a slight upward and rearward tilt. Meansare provided forvarying the degree of either the lateral correction or the longitudinal tiltingapplied to the os calcis, vthese means consisting of provisions for varying the thickness of the heel support at ornear its forward end, either throughout its entire width or on either side of its median line.` In order to meetthe peculiar anatomical needs ofthe feet of differenti individuals, I have provided means whereby the'thickness of the device on either side of its longitudinal center may be altered at the will of the v wearer to change its contour relative to the PATENT forrfficiz.

heel bone, so as to cause the device to tilt or rotate the heel bone inwardly yor outwardly to a greater or lesser degree and to regulate `the degree of upward tilting of that portion forward of its'superior tuberin the accompanying drawings,

perspective view of the heel` 1, showing a modified arrangement of pocket 5 and opening 15;

Fig. 5, a side" elevational view from the right-hand side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6, aA sectional yview on line 6-'6.of`

Fig. 1; l y. F ig.'7 a'detailed perspective view of the insert' pocket shown in Fig. 1;V Y y Fig. 8, a similar view of'one ofthe inserts designed to be used in the shown in Fig. 1;

. Fig. .9, a

form of heel supportg. Y

Fig. 10, a perspective view `of a modified form of insert designed to be used in thel type of device shown in Fig. 9; and

F 11,` a perspective view Vof anothery modified form of heel support.

'ln the embodiment of my improvements in a practical heel support, I employ a `pad or cushion 1 of a shape and size tolfit the inside of a shoe heel. This pad ispreferably composed of smooth,fiexible, leatherv but may be made of felt, canvas, or any other designed to be used in theyc'entral lateral pockets perspectiveview of a modified suitable resilient'material. It may be fashioned out cfa single piece of material Vor Y built up of superimposed layers 1a, 1", 16,'of

the same or different materials, and may be made either with or without a layerorlayers of rubber associated with the kother mate` rials or material. In oneform ofiny invention 'l provide the pad or cushion with a layer of rubber, 1d, on its bottom, the rub# ioo ber layer having an irregular or substan* tially star-shaped opening 15 through its center to increase the eiiiciency of thevgripn ping action of the rubber in preventing the pad from crease the elasticity of the pad in the region where the heel bone rests. This opening may be positioned as in Fig. 2 or under seat 16 of insert 5a, as in Fig. 4.

In carrying out the purposes of the invention the pad or cushion is made considerably thicker at or near its forward portion than at its rearward portion. When placed in a shoe its upper surface slopes from its highest portion toward both the forward edge and the rear portion. 'Ihe pad is also thicker at one side edge than at the other, sometimes the right-hand edge being the thicker and sometimes the left-hand edge. lUsuallythe inner edge is thicker than the outer, as shown in Fig. 1, the pad illustrated 'Li that figure being intended to be worn in the left shoe. As indicatedin' F ig.V 1, the pad is longer along its outer side than on its inner side. Its-forward edge is obliqueand the portion of the pad forward of the lateral pockets 3,

4, tapers gradually from vthe high parts in the Vregion of the pockets down to the forward edge. The forwardly sloping portion of the pad forms a support for the foot inimediately below'the cuboid-bone, the provisiono this support tending to cradle the foot and to aid in counteracting any tendency on the part ofy the wearer to run the upper of the shoeover the sole on the outer iside. It will of course be understood'that on the one side'or the other of the shoe heel.

The' longitudinal slope, as previously inti" mated, is designed to act rupon the os calcis to give its plantar surface forward of its superior tuberosity a slight upward and i Y versely from the central longitudinal line to rearward tilt. v

. For the purpose of varying the degree ofv transverse tilting of the os calcis, as well as the degree of longitudinal tilting, means are provided for increasing the thickness of the pad or cushion in its forward portion 'throughout its entire width or on one Sid'eor the other of its longitudinal center.

This is accomplished by means of inserts 12 adapted to be introduced into the body of the pad or attached to the pad on or near its upper surface. Y embodiment of the device I provide a pair slipping in the shoe, and to in In the preferredk of lateral pockets 3, 4, in the forward part of the body portion of the pad, the pockets being of such shape as to receive and hold snugly the inserts. These pockets are positioned on either side of the plantar surface of the os calcis forward of the superior tuberosity, and furnish an adjustable lateral support for that bone. The pockets are usually formed by an additional piece of resilient material stitched on or otherwise secured to the upper part of the body portion ofthe pad or cushion 1, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the lines of stitchg in that figure defining the limits of the pockets and the extent to which they inserts can be introduced thereinto.

In order to have the inserts in proper position to meet and support the os calcis, one of the pockets is usually made longer than@ the other and extended inwardly past the 85 longitudinal center of the pad. In the Vdevice as generally constructed for wear Vin the left shoe the pocket3 willv be longer than pocket 4; in the device for the right shoe pocket 4 will be longer thanpocket 3. The open ends of the pockets are shown in Fig. 1 at'fthe sides of the pad, that'figure illustrating the end of pocket 3 with an insert 12 therein. The pockets may, how-` ever, open to thel rear instead of at the sides, the rearward openings, shown at 13, 14, in Fig. 11, permitting the insertion or removal of theins'erts without removing the pady from the shoe. In the form of heel support shown in Fig. 1 the pockets are ofsuch shape and arrangement as to form a recess between theedges of their abutting ends which serves` asa seat for the reception of the heel bone-' In othenforins of my device this recess `is. omitted andthe pockets made to take the general shape of those designated 3, 4a, in *ig 11. Y

The upper wall of each pocket may beV made somewhat thicker at its forward end than at its rearward end, Gradually taper- 110 ing toward the latter. yThe inserts are preferably of soft elastic Vor resilient material,vsuch as soft rubber, pressboard, leather orA felt, and are substantially wedge-shape, being. thick at vthe outer end at lthe center 115 and sloping od to a thin edge at the opposite end and also preferably tapering off transeach side edge, although the transverse taperv is not alwaysnecessary and may be omitted. v

In the form of the device in'which the pockets are of equal length the inserts Vare interchangeable; in the form shown in Fig.

1, wherein the pockets are of differentV Lacona-.1i

widthof the y'pad orcushio'n, the pocket in this form'of device opening either at the.

side edges of the pad as shown in Fig.v 9, or on the surface of the pad at the rearwardside, as inv the case yof the' pockets. shown in Fig. 11. device it is desirable to use ya reversible insert 2b of the shape illustrated in Fig. 9, or the insert may take the modified form 2, illustrated in Fig. 10, this insert being flat on one side (its bottom) and gradually increasing in thickness longitudinally from one edge to the other and transversely throughout its length from each side to the middle. The supplemental central insert hereinafter described may be used with this type of device and a pocket to receive it is usually furnished, as shown in Fig. 9 and designated 5". It should be noted, however, that the principal functions of this insert are performed by the special form of insert illustrated in Fig. 10 and that for this reason the supplemental pocket may sometimes be omitted altogether or the insert therefor not used.

In the manufacture of my heel support it is not absolutely essential that the pockets be' formed by separate pieces of material to the body of the pad l, as these pockets may be formed by means of slits or openings made in the pad, as shown in Fig. 11. These openings are usually made between adjacent layers of material, in which case their limits are defined either by cementing or stitching in the same manner as where they are formed by a superimposed layer f of material attached to the upper layer of the pad. The pockets formed as in Fig. 11 may open on the upper surface, rearwardly, as shown in that figure, or may open on the sides of the pad, as in Fig. 1.

As above stated, the inserts in the lateral pockets serve to wedge up the anterior end of the os calcis. Inthe form of device illus'- trated in Fig. 1 the head of the os calcis is received in a recess 10 between the abutting ends of the lateral pockets. Directly beneath this recess is the supplemental pocket 5, formed in or attached to the heel pad 1 on or near its upper surface and in a plane immediately below that of the lateral pockyets. This supplemental pocket is intended to receive an insert of special design. The insert (5a) isi kshaped to conform to the contour and to act as a resilient support for the shaft of the os calcis anterior of its superior tuberosity, being thickest near its forward rounded end, having a cup-shaped depression 16 at about its center, and in general contour tapering abruptly forward and to each'side and more gradually to a knife-edge at the rear, as indicated in Fig. 7. The cup-shaped depression'is designed to receive and forma seat for the shaft of In this single-pocketV the os calcis.- By the use of this insert not only is the anterior end of theos calcis lifted f slightly upward, but it ispossible to ad-' just the pressure on thel plantar surface of that bone .forward of its superior tuberosity. What I claim as new is :m .1. A heel support comprising a pad or cushion having itsr bottom surface jsubstany tially flat and its top surface substantially' flat at its rearward portiony and sloping transversely at its forward portion.

2. A heel support comprising a pad or cushion having its rearward portion substantially flat and its forward portion inclined longitudinally relativeto said rearward portion, whereby the forward portion of the pad may support and give an upward and rearward tilt yto the shaft of the os calcis.

3. A heel support comprising a pad or cushion thicker near its forward end than at its rearward portion throughout its width and of substantially uniform ythickness at its rearward portion, and varying in thickness transversely at its forward portion.

4. A heel support comprising a pad or cushion having a substantially flat rearward portion and provided with a recess or pocket at its forward portion, and an insert in the pocket, said insert being thinned both laterally and longitudinally, whereby the os calcis may be tilted vlaterally on its base and an upward and rearwardl tilt imparted to y the plantar surface of the os calcis forward of its superior tuberosity or seat.

5. In a heel support, a pad or cushion comprising a body portion provided with a laterally extending pocketV or recess near its forward end for the receptionof inserts, and a supplemental pocket or recess located substantially centrallyof the -upper part of the body portion for the reception of a supplemental insert. f

6. In a heel support, a paid or cushion provided with a transverse pocket or recess adjacent to its upper surface near its forward end, an insert removably located 'in said pocket or recess, a supplemental pocket or recess positioned substantially centrally of the pad or cushion near its upper surface, and an insert removablylocated in said supplemental pocket or recess to form a support for the plantar surface of the os-calcis forward of its superior tuberosity.k

7. In a heel support, ay pad or cushion of substantially uniform thickness at its rearward portion, and means attached to said pad or cushion for varying the thickness of one side thereof relative tothe other side at its forward portion.

8. In a heel support, a pad or cushion having its'rearward portion of substantially uniform thicknessV and its forward portion inclined longitudinally relative to said rearpad or cushion for varying the thickness of one side thereof relative to the otherV side at v ing the height of the surface of the forward its forward portion.

9.111 a heel support, avpad of resilient 'l .material adapted to form a cushion for the heel, means for varying the thickness of either'side of the pad relative tothe other side near the forward end of the pad, whereby the os Galois may be tilted laterally` in one direction or ythe other, and for adjustpart of the padto `Very the degree of upward and rearward tilting ofthe shaft of` the os Galois forward of its superior tuber- Y 

